Businessmen Malachy and Alan scale new heights for charity

Armagh man opens pop-up chippy on Mt Kilimanjaro

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Wednesday 5 December 2018 12:12

ARMAGH businessman Malachy Mallon and his friend Alan Hanna have handed over cheques to worthy causes following their epic challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.And as the pair own chip shops in Armagh, Dungannon and Kilkeel it seemed the ‘obvious’ thing to do at the top of the world’s highest free-standing mountain was to open a pop-up chippy.On Friday they made the official presentation of £20,000 to The Fishermen’s Mission, having already presented £5,000 to Fortune Kids & Education Foundation Orphanage in Tanzania. Upon return they received a further £2,000 for the orphanage, from a local business man. A total of £27,000 raised!

Travelling to Tanzania to climb the 20,000 ft of Mount Kilimanjaro might seem a long way to go just to cook fish and chips. But for two award winning fish and chip shop owners, it was a clever way to give back to their local community and those much less fortunate, living five thousand miles away.“We wanted to raise more money for the Fishermen’s Mission and we needed a big challenge to gain the sponsorship.” Said Malachy. “So at the top of the world, we did what we do best, cooked fish and chips. We had trained well for the climb and the cooking was great fun, and of course it was an amazing adventure.“But it’s important to remember, the real difference we can all make in the lives of those who face daily struggles. That mixture of cheering each other on and accepting the temporary discomfort, meant we could overcome 8 days of climbing, because it was helping so many other people who have to overcome adversity every day.”Alan added, “We were honoured and humbled to visit the Fortune Kids Orphanage. The support from McWhinney's Sausages; Kerry Foods, Unique Seafood Ltd and Florigo Frying Solutions, has been superb and we had brought some of the food with us. We got potatoes at a local market and despite no running water and only a two ring gas stove, we practiced our pop-up cooking skills, for the staff and children. The sausages, fish and chips were devoured.”Alan and Malachy donated five thousand pounds to the orphanage, which is 14.7 million Tanzanian shillings. It provided food, mattresses, payment of their rent for 1 year and crucially, access to running water. In a recent email the orphanage said they were keeping well, despite battling malaria. Malachy said, “We’ve learned the donation also helped pay health insurance for the children, and wages for the security guard, a teacher and fittingly, the matron and chef. That kind of change in people’s lives is why we set out to fundraise.”